Toronto Teachers College - Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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CREATIVITY - Ill i ANONYMOUS Creativity is the basis of all human activity and its development is of first importance in education. Too often creativity is considered synonymous with the fine arts, instead it should be a point of view which perme- ates all learning. Creative writing is not concerned with the giving of information but with the expression of thoughts and feelings for their own sake and for the entertainment of others. Imagination and originality enter into this. Originality is an important factor, that is, the child must express his own mental or emotional reactions, not simply a report on the thoughts and feel- ings of others. lt is well to remember that few thoughts are original in the sense that they are expressed for the first time, originality consists in the selection and ad- aptation of thoughts and feelings of others. Sensitivity, sincerity and conviction are involved. Creativity in oral and written language can be then broken down into three parts, creativity and the child, the role of the teacher in creative expression and the importance of classroom climate in creative endeavors. In order to help children we must know them. It is difficult for a child to reveal his innermost thoughts to a stranger. The building of understanding, trust, and respect is needed for children to feel free to express their dreams, their wonderings and their questionings. Creativity cannot be taught but it can be guided. One author states if you prove yourself a friend to the children and they find you worthy, they will share with you the treasures of their hearts. A teacher must then have warm, sincere, understand- ing personality but more than this a high self-regard and confidence, this coupled with a sense of future will prevent conformity to the routines of the past. For I6 the teacher to help the child become a more creative being he too must be a creative being. He must be a fully functioning personality with positive satisfactions and he must eliminate negative, hostile thoughts and feelings which are limiting and confining. To influence the child he must be aware of the beauties around him, the sunset, the crisp crackle of snow on a frosty morning, the pungent scent of a warm September afternoon. Perhaps more important than this is an awareness of the individuals around him and a deep sense of their worth. And most important is a striving for a higher spirit of moral and spiritual values. What is our purpose in helping children to write and to express themselves creatively? Most will agree that writing develops the personality, gives children some- thing to be proud of and provides emotional release. Yet most creative people are not self-starting. This is why the teacher's role is so important- to help provide the stimulation necessary for the release of ideas and words. Authorities on creative writing agree that a teacher preparing a class for writing must discuss the subject with them. Through this thought-sharing comes a deepening and widening of the stream of ideas. Strange new words and new shades of meaning of familiar words will come from this thinking together. Children do not generally lack ideas but rather the dis- criminating words to put them together. Writers on the subiect of creativity are pretty much in agreement that environmental conditions, which fos- ter creativity, are those which encourage independent thought and which are permissive of new ideas. Class- room climate in which the child feels at home is a prerequisite for creative activities. Creative urges are spontaneous and fleeting and fragile. Fear of criticism is likely to inhibit the expression of creative ideas. This brings up the question of evaluation of written composition. The inevitable red pencil has no place in the creative writing program. As one writer puts it Red pencil the achievements. Pride in one's work is a powerful incentive to correct spelling and sentence structure. The question now arises, can children's writ- ing have both freshness and correctness? Definitely yes! We must give children an opportunity to write more often. Then we will be wise to separate content from mechanics. The teacher's first obligation is to deal with content. For children in the primary grades there is so much to explore that they usually have a great deal to say and they say it in a fresh unhibited style. Too often in the middle grades the attention shifts to mech- anics, and the child's writing becomes less spontaneous and more laboured. Thus a creative program is not meant to require the manoevering of ideas or the mov- ing of a teacher's idea into the pupil's head. It is simply a creating of such an atmosphere in a schoolroom that the children's ideas may grow there naturally. It means planting seeds where no seeds were and making it possible for them to grow. Can we teach children to write creatively? Not really, but we can help children to release the creativity with- in that seeks expression.

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lln llpen Letter Dr. John M. Bennett received his M.A. from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa. Not the least of his achievements is the fact that he was Inspector of Separate Schools for the Department of Educa- tion for forty-two years. During that time he served in several advisory capacities in the interests of Education in Ontario. Since his retirement in 7959 he has been active as a member of the Toronto Library Board and since 7942 the Department of Reform Institutions in an advisory capacity. To The Graduates of Toronto Teachers College You are commencing your teaching vocation in a Revolutionary Era. The destructive bomb on Hiroshima changed our thinking, aroused a new sense of values and ushered in outstanding scientific and social ad- vances. On the credit side, telestar, iet transportation, man-made satelites, computing and teaching machines, emergence of many nations, the peace corps, the spirit of involvement and the tremendous work of the United Nations. Yet mankind faces threats of atomic destruc- tion, racial strife, sub-human existance in many nations, starvation and loss of the four freedoms. Our children will face a multitude of social and international prob- lems. Since 1945 the changes have been terrific. What may be expected in the next 35 years can be some- what anticipated. So the questions which education must face are now being asked. Are children being prepared to meet the changing problems? Are their talents being developed in educational institutions to meet the demands of this new age? However, you must enter into the child's world. Consider yourself fortunate that your evident missio-n is to meet daily a growing group of eager youngsters, challenging you to advance them in goodness, self-dis- cipline, and knowledge. Each is a distinct individual, a human being made to the image of the Creator with rights and responsibilities which you are in duty bound to respect. Each one yearns to be appreciated, needs encouragement and thrives on it. They will love learn ing and have a desire for knowledge if inspired by your example. To attain success you must be definite in speech and manner, know your stuff and along with well planned lessons, a supply of that sense called humour. Children are naturally full of fun, eager for action, for song, for play and even for work. So you must be- come involved on the playground, in the class provide opportunities for development and happiness in song, in music and in drama. Produce pupils skilled in the tools of education so they may be able to educate themselves after school years. Strive to stimulate in- terest and curiosity in science, health and nature. Be a fosterer of whatever God-given talents and mind and body, of heart and soul, with which they have been endowed. Canada will need them. Guide their growing mental- ly with questions as they pro-gress in thinking ability when puzzling over arithmatical, composition and lan- guage problems. Encourage the frustrated and diffident patiently. Treat kindly those from problem homes. Above all, enlarge the mental and spiritual horizons of each child by your own youthful and inspiring man- ner when teaching literature, poetry and history that they may appreciate our wonderful heritage and the contribution of our pioneer forefathers. I5

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FREE THE CHILD timounu Move ment A lt is said that drama as an art arose out of the very urge to ponder the question of human existence and destiny. The beat of this urge gathered momentum with the institution of the Festival of Dionysus and the founding of the Attic Theatre of the Athenian State. This was the preparation for the birth of an aspect of our emotional life which has helped to clear the rushes along the path leading to intellectual cultivation. lt is apparent that in each period of our history nature urges the development of a new aspect. Pulsation is felt as it uses up whatever material is available for its production. More and more material of a finer nature becomes available as we grow and mature as a human family. Plato admitted that play and dance were the first stages of child education when he said, Men say that the young of all creatures cannot be quiet in their bodies or in their voices, they are always wanting to move and cry out, some leaping and skipping, and overflowing with sportiveness and delight at some- thing, others uttering all sorts of cries. But whereas the animals have no perception of order in their move- ments, that is rhythm and harmony, as they are called, to us the Gods have been appointed to be our com- panions in the dance, have given the pleasurable sense of harmony and rhythm, so they stir into life, and we follow them ioining hands together in dances and songs. Plato wanted a whole man and he said, The use of exercise and motion in the earliest years of life greatly contributes to create a part of virtue in the soul. From Plato's time our mind drifts not only forward to form the link with the present, but backward to pin- point earlier surgings for dramatic expression and everywhere we find movement. At one of the earliest stages recorded we are told: Darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. Creativity begins through movement. What does this process of creativity consti- tute? lt makes new combinations of ideas and patterns which produce new relationships. Our children today move to show how a certain sound or colour makes them feel. lt is the quality of the sound and colour that they express in their own im- itable way. Why shouldn't we make the utmost use of their innate desire for movement and let body move- ment contribute to the learning process? A child who perhaps might not have the chance for leadership in any other area might show his movements and have others try it. His self-concept expands as he tastes success in this area. ln working together children learn to harmonize their movements. Creative move- ments contributes to the development of personality. By acting out situations through improvisations, dramatizing a beloved tale, or helping to create an original script, the children develop inventiveness, ini- tiative and co-operation, which produces spontaneity. In addition, sensitivity to the beauty of language and visual design is developed. One writer said that movement is the medium for revealing invisible things, those seen through the eye and not with the eye. Rousseau was the first to substi- tute activity for book-learning and his motto was, 'Let all lessons take the form of doing rather than talking. By allowing children to identify themselves with ideas and qualities is to lead them to understand the ideas and appreciate the qualities. To teach them to identify themselves with others is to help them under- stand the meaning of love, kindness, tolerance, sym- pathy and compassion. What kind of classroom will you have? Will drama be accorded its rightful place and thus contribute its grace to the physical, its colour to the mind and its force to the spirit, to produce a whole man or woman? I7